


Slushie

by martialartist816



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette, F/M, First Dates, Fluff, Pre-Relationship, even if it's not technically a date, pre-reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-29
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-04-14 08:27:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14132124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/martialartist816/pseuds/martialartist816
Summary: Set after Gorizilla.Adrien wants to go to the movies without wearing a biker helmet to hide from fans. He and Marinette find a way to make it work, more or less.





	Slushie

**Author's Note:**

> This one-shot takes place after Gorizilla :)

It wasn’t a date.

It definitely was not a date.

Marinette repeated the phrase in her head so quickly that it matched the pace of her frantically pounding heart. She texted the phrase to Alya, thumbs typing at the speed of light, as she stood just inside the front door of the cinema.

‘He asked you and no one else,’ Alya texted her back.

‘Only because I was the one he ended up stuck with when he was running from fans!’ Marinette replied, eyes darting up and scanning the street outside for any sign of Adrien.

‘He could’ve asked anyone, but he specifically asked you.’

‘He would have said so if it was a date.’ And since he didn’t specify, it was just two friends hanging out. It definitely wasn’t a date.

‘Maybe he’ll make his move during the film.’

‘You’re trying to kill me aren’t you?’

Before Marinette could hit send, someone with a voice as sweet as macaroons greeted her.

“Hey, Marinette. Have you been waiting long?”

She looked up from her screen and saw Adrien’s gentle smile and warm green eyes. Predictably, she turned red. No amount of worrying about seeing a movie alone with Adrien could have prepared her to act cool around him. He had asked her earlier that week, during a break between two of their classes, to come to the movies with him that weekend.

“I feel like I should make up for interrupting the movie we tried to see when my bodyguard decided to break through the roof,” was his reason for wanting to take her with.

She spent the remainder of the week internally combusting every time she thought about being alone with him, in a dark theater, like couples did on dates.

But it wasn’t a date, and that was the only reason she was still breathing right now.

Fumbling to get her phone back into her purse, and almost dropping it in the process, Marinette shook her head.

“N-No, I just got here.” She may have lied a little, but Adrien didn’t need to know that she had arrived fifteen minutes early so she could have a chance to calm her nerves. “You didn’t have to sneak out to come today, did you?”

“It’s all good,” Adrien answered with a smile. “After that one day, I had a long talk with my dad. He’s trying to be better at giving me more freedom, so I can go out on most weekends now.”

“I’m glad. I’d hate for you to get into trouble because of me.” ‘Again,’ Marinette wanted to add.

“No trouble to be had today.” Adrien reached into his pocket and pulled out a few euros. “He even gave me money for concessions. Ticket is on me, too, by the way.”

“I can’t let you pay for me,” Marinette protested, a pout on her lips.

Adrien dismissed her refusal with a wave of his hand, then settled the same hand on Marinette’s lower back to guide her to the box office. He asked for two tickets to a new Euro-American spy movie that was recently released. It wasn’t anything compared to the elusive Emilie Agreste film noir, but it had gotten good reviews.

“I’m the one who asked you out today. Besides, I kinda feel bad for keeping you away from your friends on that day,” Adrien said as the teller ripped their tickets. He gave one stub to Marinette, and she knew she would treasure the little piece of paper for the rest of her life.

“How did you know about that?” Not that crashing into Marinette in her pajamas had given him any indication that she was headed for the pool.

“Nino told me.”

“He probably heard from Alya. Those two are inseparable.”

They shared a knowing giggle and approached the concession stand. Everything smelled like popcorn and sugar.

“What would you like?” Adrien glanced at her after browsing over the menu.

“Whatever you’re having.” Marinette still felt guilty about letting him pay for her. She couldn’t even think about what she wanted to eat with how nervous she felt about the whole situation. Maybe adding unhealthy food to her already butterflied stomach wasn’t the best idea.

“Adrien Agreste!”

Marinette saw Adrien stiffen subtly as the cashier said his name with a surprised gasp.

“Uh, that’s me,” he said back to her, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. “Hi.”

The cashier’s face lit up, and she pressed her hands to her cheeks in excitement.

“Hi. I’m a big fan. Oh, wow, you’re taller in person. Gosh, I’m sorry for blurting that out, it’s just that I never in a million years thought you’d come to the movies like this.” As she babbled, the cashier glanced as Marinette and seemed to realize how awkward she was making them feel. “Anyway, excuse me. What can I get you?”

The smile never left her face, and she looked about two seconds away from asking Adrien for his autograph. They chatted a little bit, and Marinette stood behind Adrien in an attempt to disappear. She felt out of place. A strange, unreasonable jealousy made her blush again, and she rubbed her arm self-consciously. For as long as they’ve known each other, Marinette never really saw him interact with fans before. He was acting so polite, and she didn’t think he could be more of an angel than he already was.

Adrien asked for two slushies, one blueberry and one strawberry, and a large bowl of popcorn. He turned and offered her a choice between the two flavors.

“I like blue,” she said, taking the blueberry cup from him so he could carry his own and the bowl of popcorn.

“Like your eyes,” Adrien mused with a happy hum. Marinette wanted to run to the bathroom so she could call Alya to abort mission.

They found their seats, and Adrien pushed up the armrest between them so they could both reach the popcorn. Marinette sipped on her slushie, watching the commercials play in front of her with blank eyes. She was busy thinking about if she should make a move or something. Did she slowly scoot closer to Adrien under the guise of wanting to be closer to the popcorn? Did she maintain her distance and see if Adrien tried something first? The fact that she’d never been on a real date before--that one disaster with Nino didn’t count--wasn’t helping her.

Besides. It wasn’t a date. She didn’t have to do anything special other than enjoy spending time with Adrien.

“Aren’t you afraid of getting brain freeze?”

Marinette blinked and glanced at Adrien from the corner of her eye. She realized her slushie was already half-drained, straw still in her mouth in her absent mindedness. Quickly setting the cup down in the holder, she forced a laugh.

“Oh, I don’t really get brain freeze.” She rolled her eyes and waved her hand like it was no big deal when, now that Adrien mentioned it, the roof of her mouth was feeling uncomfortably numb.

Adrien laughed and covered his mouth before he got too loud. He still chuckled behind his hand, shoulders shaking slightly as he stared at Marinette’s face.

“What?” she asked, suddenly afraid she had a massive pimple right on her nose or something.

“Your tongue is blue.”

“Oh.” Marinette bashfully touched her lips with her fingers. “That’s embarrassing.”

“It’s cute. Matches your eyes.”

Marinette could only giggle nervously in response. She regretted drinking something so cold so quickly because her insides were doing flips.

When Adrien turned his attention back to the commercials, sipping on his strawberry slushie, Marinette got her phone and texted Alya multiple times in rapid succession.

‘Alya, help me.’

‘I’m dying.’

‘He said my mouth is like my eyes.’

‘Girl, what,’ Alya responded.

‘My tongue is blue from a slushie, and he said it’s cute.’

‘Good news! Keep it up.’

‘The movie hasn’t even started and I’m already having palpitations. How am I going to survive sitting next to him for two more hours?’

‘Put your phone away. You shouldn’t be talking to me when you could be flirting him up.’

‘I can’t do that. I wouldn’t even know how to start.’ Marinette’s thumbs danced over the screen, and then she sent another text. ‘The cashier was flirting him up before I even had the chance.’

‘Don’t forget your confidence, girl. He’s on a date with you, not the cashier.’

‘Not a date!’

‘Let me know when he makes The Move ;)’

‘What move?’

‘Alya!’

‘What move!’

Alya didn’t respond after that, probably to force Marinette into interacting with Adrien instead of her cellphone.

Behind them, a couple of girls sat down and whispered to themselves. Marinette heard one of them say ‘Adrien Agreste’ in an excited tone. The whispers continued, punctuated by frequent giggles. Marinette was fairly certain that she heard one girl dare the other to introduce herself to him after the movie.

Marinette’s gaze shifted over to Adrien, who had his shoulders drawn up. He didn’t look at her, but she could tell by his expression that he could hear the girls behind them too. He wouldn’t acknowledge it, either, giving Marinette the impression that he was trying to feign ignorance.

She wanted to say something to him, but she didn’t know what. Courage built, Marinette rested her hand on his forearm, and opened her mouth.

“Adrien…” she murmured. The lights went dim, signalling the beginning of the movie. Marinette retracted her hand, her opportunity to offer some comforting words now gone.

Still, Adrien turned toward her with curious eyes and a newly relaxed expression.

Searching for something else to say, Marinette replied with “Don’t forget to silence your phone.”

Nodding, Adrien did just that and got comfortable in his chair as the movie began. Marinette pushed all the distractions out of her mind and told herself to pay attention to the screen.

It proved to be rather easy to enjoy a movie with Adrien. Marinette didn’t have to worry about small talk and stumbling over words like she usually did. The action on screen was entertaining enough. Marinette sipped slowly at the rest of her slushie and shared the popcorn with Adrien. She made sure to pace herself, though, watching in her peripherals for when he was reaching in the bucket. As much as she wanted to accidentally brush hands with him, she made it so that didn’t happen. Even in the dark, she blushed brightly.

The two of them finished the snack soon enough, and Adrien placed the empty bowl by his shoes and out of the way. It left a loud, empty space between them that tempted Marinette to slide closer. The armrest was still up, and Adrien made no move to pull it back down.

Maybe, since the chance presented itself, Marinette should do something about it…

She started subtly, simply crossing her legs Indian style in her seat. In doing so, she inched herself just barely closer to Adrien. Whether knowingly or not, he shifted when Marinette moved. Before she could process it, he had closed the remaining space between them and casually draped his arm over her shoulders.

Staring at the back of the chair in front of her, Marinette counted her breaths in her head, making sure she wasn’t suffocating in the warmth from her cheeks and the warmth from Adrien’s body.

Their thighs touched, and Marinette’s chest exploded into fireworks that made her fingers and toes tingle. Adrien felt soft and relaxed against her. His fingers played with the fabric of her sleeve for a second before stopping. She felt his ribcage expand with each breath he took. The action helped to lull Marinette where the proximity had caused her a new wave of anxiety. She melted as the minutes passed, settling closer to Adrien until it felt comfortable and natural like they had done this a thousand times already. Something about him holding her seemed familiar in the best way.

Over the sounds of the movie, the whisperings started again. Adrien’s fingers smoothed over Marinette’s sleeve again, rhythmic, like he was distracting himself. Marinette let the action distract her too, and she was able to ignore the fangirl gossip coming from behind them.

Her eyes drifted over to Adrien, whose face was closer than before they had engaged in this new position. She was drawn to the shadows cast on his face from the low and shifting illumination. She memorized what he looked like in profile and decided that he didn’t have a bad side. Maybe that was what made him such a good model. She noticed his pores for the first time, which reminded her that he was just a teenager like her and all of their classmates. His skin was clean and looked smooth to the touch--oh, how badly she wanted to touch. He probably moisturized. How cute…

His lips, she finally realized, were tinted bright red because of his slushie. They glimmered against the light from the movie, and Marinette concluded that they probably tasted potently like the sugar from his drink.

She knew that blue and red made purple.

Adrien turned his head toward Marinette, catching her off guard, and leaned a little closer to whisper.

“Kiss?”

“U-Um…” Marinette was at a loss of how to answer him. Her whole face felt hot from getting caught while staring at him, even hotter because he seemed to ask her about precisely what was on her mind. Did she accidentally say all of that out loud?

Before she could give him a single word, Adrien held up a small bag of Hershey’s Kisses. All Marinette could do was blink at it.

“The cashier gave it to me for free earlier. I think she was hoping that would get me to sign something for her.”

As Adrien murmured, keeping his voice low to not disturb the moviegoers, he brought his head closer to Marinette’s ear, lips near her temple. His breath smelled like sweet strawberry.

“Sure,” she replied feebly.

He handed her the entire bag, unbothered to move his arm off her shoulders to open it. Marinette ripped a bit of the corner off and placed a kiss in her palm. She stared at the offending candy, disappointed that Adrien’s offer of a kiss was just this chocolate instead of the real thing.

After unwrapping it, she gave it to Adrien and took one for herself.

They concluded the movie like that. Marinette unwrapped candies for Adrien whenever he wanted one. She ate a few of her own, and when the lights came back on, she found a pile of colorful tinfoil in her lap.

Adrien was out of his seat the moment the credits rolled on screen. He took Marinette’s hand guided her out of the crowded room while most stragglers lingered about and waited to see if there was a post-credit scene. As they spilled into the hallway, Adrien dropped her hand and let out a relieved sigh.

“Sorry about that,” he said, pouting a little. “I, um, have to rush to the bathroom. Meet back here in a few minutes?”

Marinette agreed, thankful that he suggested it because the pressure in her bladder had gotten worse since she finished her slushie. They parted into their respective restrooms, and Marinette puffed out a huge breath when she closed the stall door. She actually made it through a whole movie with Adrien.

When she opened her purse to grab her phone, Tikki flew out.

“That went so well, Marinette! You both seemed to have a lot of fun.” Tikki beamed at her, making Marinette smile back.

“I hope he was enjoying himself. I feel so bad that we keep running into fans.” Her smile faded as she stared into the reflection of her black phone screen. “The whole point in coming today was so that he could relax at the movies like a normal teenager.”

“I think he was able to do that, thanks to you.” Tikki floated up and patted Marinette’s hair.

“I wish there was a way for him to experience what it’s like to not be recognized at all, and without wearing a ridiculous disguise.”

As if on cue, Marinette heard giggles from a few girls outside of her stall. While washing their hands, they said Adrien’s name.

“I got a picture of the back of his head!”

“Man, I wanted so badly to be that girl he was with. She’s so lucky!”

“The rumors are true, I guess. He really does have a girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend or not, I’m still going to go out there and introduce myself to him. Maybe he’ll let me take a selfie with him!”

They scurried back into the lobby, and Marinette dejectedly opened the stall door and went to wash her hands. For Adrien’s sake, she hoped he wouldn’t run into those girls.

She gave Tikki a look as if to say “See what I mean?”

“I’m sure there’s a way to make it up to him,” Tikki offered.

“Today was supposed to be the make-up day. Anyway, I wouldn’t even know what to do to help him feel better,” Marinette said.

“Use your imagination,” Tikki said before disappearing back into Marinette’s purse.

With a sigh, Marinette exited the bathroom only to find Adrien standing in the middle of a small crowd. Cellphones raised and snapped pictures in his direction. He held up his hands in front of his fans, girls and boys alike, and smiled apologetically. When he spotted Marinette, he found an out. Pushing past all the people, he gave them a half-mumbled excuse to leave and made a beeline for Marinette.

“Sorry, again. Let’s go stand outside.” He held her hand once more, directing her out the doors and onto the sidewalk.

Marinette was grateful for the fresh air, and it seemed true for Adrien as well. They stood off to the side, invisible to the bustling commuters who strode past them in a hurry from left and right.

“I shouldn’t have left you alone like that,” Marinette said, eyes cast down to the pavement. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, Marinette. I had a great time with you regardless.” Adrien touched her arm, causing her to look up at him with a blush spreading on her cheeks. She saw his smile, his earnest eyes, and she believed him. “If anything, I should be apologizing for getting us interrupted so often. I know you’re not used to this kind of thing.”

Actually, Marinette could tell him story after story about how many times she was stopped by adoring fans, just under the name of Ladybug instead of Marinette. But there was an obvious reason she didn’t mention it to him.

“Yeah, I have no idea what it’s like to be famous.” She hoped she didn’t sound too sarcastic. If Chat Noir were there, he would’ve laughed at her joke.

Adrien chuckled, the tension seeming to leave his shoulders.

“Marinette, can I walk you home?” he asked.

Her heart fluttered at the offer, but then it dropped when she saw a silver sedan roll to a stop in front of them.

“Ah, I think your ride’s here.” She pointed shyly, and Adrien glanced over his shoulder to confirm that his bodyguard was there to pick him up.

“Looks like my weekend of freedom is over.” Adrien sighed in disappointment, but then he smiled. “Thank you so much for coming out with me today. You have no idea how much it means to me.”

“Please don’t thank me. You’re wonderful. I mean! I mean s-spending time with you is wonderful.” Don’t babble at him, Marinette. Stop before you embarrass yourself. “Hey, if you ever want to watch a movie again, maybe without getting recognized by fans, we could watch something at my house? You like movies, right? Of course you do. Who doesn’t?”

Marinette covered her mouth with her hand before she said anything else, eyes widening because, holy crap, did she really just ask Adrien to come to her house? He’d never agree to that. Besides, he said he had only some weekends free. He probably wanted to spend his time doing things with his other friends.

Adrien laughed, and Marinette wanted to hide her face forever.

“You think the third time will be the charm? I like the sound of that,” he mused.

Behind them, the window in the back seat of Adrien’s car rolled down. Mr. Agreste himself looked at them with his trademark stony expression and frown. Marinette shrunk back before it was her turn to fangirl. Did Mr. Agreste remember her? All the way back to the hat designing competition? He looked upset. She hoped he didn’t hate her for keeping his son out all day.

“Adrien,” he said coldly.

“Father!” Adrien stuttered and made his way over to the car. After opening the door, and turned over his shoulder to look at Marinette. “I’ll text you soon, okay? I’m looking forward to visiting Cinema Dupain-Cheng.”

He winked at her, effectively sending an arrow through Marinette’s heart, and climbed into the car. It sped off down the street, and it took Marinette a few long seconds before she could pull her phone out and call Alya.

“I think I just dug my own grave because I actually  _ invited Adrien Agreste to my house for a movie _ !” she yelled into the speaker.

“You’re saying that like it’s a bad thing,” Alya chided through her laugh. “So he accepted the invitation, I’m guessing?”

“Yes, and I’m an idiot. I don’t even know what kinds of movies he likes! And where would we watch a movie? I can’t sit in the living room with my parents hovering over our shoulders.” Just thinking about her parents embarrassing her in front of Adrien--as they’ve done before--was enough to turn Marinette pale. Really, she was already good at making a fool of herself. She didn’t need her parents’ help to do that.

“Your bedroom would be perfect, as long as you take down your thousands and thousands of posters,” Alya suggested.

“Adrien alone in my bedroom…” Marinette mulled it over. It could be either wonderful or disastrous, depending on what happened.

“Now you’re getting it, girl. How did the rest of your date go? Did he pull  _ the move _ ?”

“Why do you have to say it like that?”

Alya only laughed again.

“I don’t even know what you mean by ‘the move’.”

“You know. The move. The one where he casually puts his arm around you and pretends he’s totally not doing anything different.”

“Okay, so maybe he did pull the move. What does that mean exactly?” Marinette chewed on her lower lip as she awaited the relationship advice of her all-knowing best friend.

“It means that today was definitely a date, and the next time you hang out with him will be one too.”

“Alya!”

“Those are the rules, Mari. Hey, let’s meet up for ice cream. We have a movie date to plan out.”

…

Adrien and Marinette arranged to hang out the next weekend. Beforehand, Marinette was sure to lecture her parents about eavesdropping and lame Dad Jokes. Her father looked particularly offended, but her mother promised for the both of them that they would be on their best behavior.

When the evening arrived, Marinette prepared a few bags of popcorn, and her mother baked some fresh cookies that she insisted were Adrien’s favorite. He came right on time, stepping through the bakery doors and politely greeting her parents. In his hands were two slushies, one red and one blue.

“I hope you don’t mind me bringing these,” he said.

“No, it’s perfect. Like a real movie theater.” Marinette stepped up to him, gingerly taking the blue cup. “Thank you.”

“Something smells delicious.” Adrien closed his eyes and inhaled indulgently, walking closer to the glass display case.

“I’m glad you said so,” Mrs. Dupain-Cheng chimed in. “There’s a fresh plate of cookies waiting for you two upstairs. Chocolate chip made with mini Hershey’s Kisses.”

“Mom,” Marinette whined when she saw her mother’s sly smile.

Her father waited at the base of the loft stairs, barely concealing how amusing he found all of this.

“Right this way, Monsieur and Mademoiselle. Tickets, please. As a courtesy to our other guests, silence your cellphones,” he said in an exaggerated customer service voice.

Marinette couldn’t hold back a groan. “Dad…”

Adrien seemed to think it was hilarious. He even pretended to hand over invisible tickets to her father, who then pretended to rip the stubs and give them back.

“Why, thank you, sir.” Adrien tipped an invisible hat, then gestured for Marinette to lead the way upstairs.

In the privacy of her bedroom, she sighed.

“I should have warned you that they were going to be just as embarrassing as last time you were here.” As Adrien entered her room, she closed the trapdoor behind him.

“It doesn’t bother me at all. I like them. I think they like me, too.” He offered a smile, bringing the slushie straw up to his lips.

“They really do,” Marinette confirmed. She watched as Adrien stepped further into her room, looking around. “They’d be crazy not to…”

“What was that?” He turned around to look at her.

“Nothing!” She sealed her lips shut against saying anything else borderline incriminating. “Make yourself comfortable.”

When she set up and cleaned her room in preparation for his arrival, she had removed every last picture of him from her walls and computer background. The pillows were arranged on the floor in a way that provided a comfortable lounge chair for them to relax in, and she’d play the movie from her computer screen. Adrien, having found the plate of cookies her mother had promised him, settled into the pillows and munched on one.

“You like action movies, right? I found one about a super-heroine who protects Paris from villains.” She might have been a little biased since the protagonist reminded her of Ladybug.

“That’s sounds more than perfect, actually.”

Marinette mentally patted herself on the back for a a stellar choice for Adrien. After queueing up the movie on her computer, she doused the lights and took her spot next to him on the floor.

“How are the cookies?” she asked, sipping on her blue slushie. She would probably associate blueberries with Adrien’s handsome face and the smell of popcorn for all of eternity.

“They’re  _ super _ .”

“You did not just--” Marinette laughed, only because Adrien was cute and not because his terrible pun was actually funny. It was worth the beaming smile he gave her, though.

“But seriously, Marinette, everything about this is awesome.” He looked down at the space between them, then back up at her face. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate everything you’re doing just to help me experience going to the movies.”

Despite her reddening face and quickening heartbeat, Marinette managed a soft smile. No matter how nervous she still was about having Adrien at her house, she was genuinely happy that she pulled it off. He deserved to know how much fun having all the freedoms of a teenager was.

“Third time’s the charm?” she teased.

Adrien again glanced down at the space between them. He covered Marinette’s hand with his own, angling his head with a big smile and a glint in his eyes.

“Most definitely.”

…

At some point, Marinette had drifted off with her head resting on Adrien’s shoulder. He put his arm around her, keeping her close and warm.

Behind them, Tikki grinned happily, and Plagg rolled his eyes.

“This is too cheesy, even for me.”

“Just wait until they find out about each other.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
